I think this will go down as one of the highlights of not only George's career, but LA's as well. Definitely a case of a very selfless athlete getting a great chance and taking full advantage of it. I have been watching the Tour for about fifteen years now and this is one of the nicest things I have seen happen. It makes up for some of the sorry things, like the way T-Mobile is treating Vino. If there is any justice Vino will find a good team that will give him proper support next year.

I've always been a fan also, I think lace was as happy about it as he was. Lance had a huge smile when he got to the bus. The look on george's face when he hit the line was completely genuine. I do not know if it was shock, relief or a bit of both.

Same here. George is a very cool guy, who has come of age big time, having worked so devotedly for Lance all these past years, he's in a position where if trained right physically and mentally he could very well be a tough TDF contender next year, he is what called an "all arounder", can TT, can sprint, can TTT witht the best and most importanly now, can climb very good. It won't be a Lance, but sure a tough contender who could even match Basso next year. I think he needs to work more on his attitude IF he's to do that, from the "eh, let's see what happens, domestique mentality to the winner, killer instinct mentality of Lance. Basso already have that "killer instinct" look, if you saw his face yesterday leading Armstrong, that's what Georgie needs, the killer punch!

I was bouncing up and down on my couch. Lance's story is one of the most incredible ever, but my favorite cyclist is George! I am so damn happy for him. One of my favorite moments from last year's TDF was when George looked back to Lance at the end of a stage inviting him to the front. Apparently he has received some incredibly lucrative offers from other teams, but he defines the word "loyalty." I hope that Lance will push some incredible fianancial rewards across the table to him at the end of the TDF.

Yeah, this win definitely rocks. I've not had the privelege of meeting him (though he did come tearing past me on the bike once--that was interesting!), but from everything Ive heard, including several people I ride with who have met him personally, he's a great guy. And like others have said, he's selflessly served for so long, and always seems to just miss the big wins, so this one is even better.

But yeah, I do think he'd need a bit more of the killer instinct to be a real serious contender for the Tour. Maybe Lance can pass some of that off to him...

I was bouncing up and down on my couch. Lance's story is one of the most incredible ever, but my favorite cyclist is George! I am so damn happy for him. One of my favorite moments from last year's TDF was when George looked back to Lance at the end of a stage inviting him to the front. Apparently he has received some incredibly lucrative offers from other teams, but he defines the word "loyalty." I hope that Lance will push some incredible fianancial rewards across the table to him at the end of the TDF.

Apparently he has received some incredibly lucrative offers from other teams, but he defines the word "loyalty."

It really couldnt have happened to a better man. George deserves every bit of joy from this victory. This has got to be a huge boost for team Disco. Not like they needed one, but a boost none the less.

I found out about at about stage 5 or 6 of this year's TdF that George lives in my homtown (Greenville, SC). Since then, I've read his bio and became a big fan of his. He'll probably be my favorite once Lance retires. I hope he gets the chance to become the team captain with the type of support Lance currently enjoys. I'm really happy for him. I was hoping that sometime during this year's TdF he would be in the position to win and be given the green light to take it if he could. My wife and I both cheered (she's from Greenville, too) when he crossed the finish.

George didn't take a pull because he would have been pulling the group AWAY from his team captain. That's NOT what he's paid to do. He was there so that if Lance got close, he could drop back some and help him up to the front. But Lance didn't make it and he didn't need to.

Missed yesterday's coverage so I just watched the "encore" coverage on the Only Lance Network....

ROCK ON, GEORGE!

I was jumping up and down so hard I bounced off the wall which prompted a knock on my door from the folks next door (sorry, people!).

Hincapie is so money, baby!

Sure he could go elsewhere but he knows the meaning of pals, and loyalty, and team, and everything else that indicates this man is selfless. And he's modest, too.

George didn't have to pull on the breakaway; he just had to sit on the wheel of the guy in front of him. He did the right thing since his team has the yellow jersey. Besides, he probably had Johan screaming in his earpiece telling him to go for it!

Wish I was on their team bus after that stage! Drinks all around! And a Rolex for George, or something!

Homeboy's a hoss!

Last edited by wrench_meister; 07-18-05 at 10:54 AM.

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately." - George Carlin, 1937-2008